Coinbase Sees Growth on the App Store—Implications for the Stock

There are many ways to assess sentiment around a stock and predict its future price. However, when these methods become widely known, their effectiveness and reliability tend to diminish. This is why top investment banks and hedge fund traders often turn to unconventional indicators to uncover what's happening beneath the surface. Currently, there are signals suggesting a potentially strong quarter for financial stocks, with one particular stock tied to the cryptocurrency markets. Over the past quarter, Bitcoin has made headlines by reaching a new all-time high and has been experiencing significant price fluctuations. While many might focus solely on Bitcoin's chart, there's a stock that could benefit greatly from all this attention. In shares of Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN), investors will find that the retail trading economy revolves around this company as a key platform for buying and selling Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The increase in activity raises the chances of a strong quarterly earnings report for Coinbase. Here's why Coinbase stock is worth considering today. Markets Hit Peak Optimism Despite the ongoing excitement in the cryptocurrency markets, Coinbase stock is still trading at just 80% of its 52-week high, placing it in near-bearish territory, as defined by Wall Street, which considers a 20% or more decline from recent highs to be bearish. Investors have the opportunity to take advantage of a favorable risk-to-reward setup here. After a recent sell-off in the technology sector, led by NVIDIA Co. (NASDAQ: NVDA) and the DeepSeek challenge, Coinbase's stock also declined due to association, but this drop may not have been entirely warranted. In the past quarter, as Bitcoin gained momentum, Coinbase's position in the Apple App Store has improved significantly, moving from the tenth to the sixth-most downloaded finance app. This indicator, often overlooked by retail traders, has proven to be a reliable gauge of sentiment for Wall Street. The surge in downloads, particularly as it coincides with the Bitcoin price rally, suggests that many are turning to Coinbase as a trusted platform for trading Bitcoin. This trend points to several potential implications for the stock moving forward. The Market's View on Coinbase Stock Given that many professional analysts and traders rely on this indicator, it's no surprise that retail investors have learned that Goldman Sachs analysts maintained a $340 per share target for Coinbase stock as of January 2025, predicting a potential upside of up to 21% from its current price. There were other optimistic predictions as well. In December 2024, Monness Crespi and Hardt reiterated their buy rating for Coinbase stock, raising their target price to $390 per share, suggesting a significant 39% upside from current levels. This small yet impactful indicator is already making waves on Wall Street. Considering that most of Coinbase's transaction volume and revenue comes from Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency trading within 10% of its 52-week high is a positive sign, especially with the growth in new accounts and funding. This is why, despite recent declines, Coinbase stock has garnered enough bullish support to discourage some bearish traders. Investors can observe this trend in the company's 4.4% drop in short interest over the past month, indicating a clear shift away from bearish sentiment. Additionally, Wall Street's earnings per share (EPS) projections support the case for a higher stock price and a potential earnings beat. Analysts predict that Coinbase could achieve up to $0.94 in EPS for the same quarter next year, a significant increase from the current $0.24 EPS. This forecast helps explain why the market is willing to assign such a premium to Coinbase stock compared to its competitors. With a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 48.1x, investors can see that Coinbase trades at a substantial premium compared to the sector's average P/E of 28.6x. While some value investors may consider this overpriced and risky, experienced traders would argue that the market is often willing to pay a premium for stocks it believes have strong potential to outperform. In this case, Coinbase fits that profile as it approaches its next earnings report.


Powered by: C.B.N